WWII
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Band of Brothers coming to Blu-ray this year
Everyone's got their own most-anticipated DVD that has yet to make the jump to HD, if Band of Brothers is yours, the wait just got a little shorter. According to The Man Room, the latest issue of Home Media Magazine loosed from an HBO VP the detail that Band of Brothers, #6 top selling DVD of all time, will make an appearance on Blu-ray before the end of the year. While waiting for the boys of Easy Company, we'll just play Call of Duty a few more (thousand) times.
Deal of the Day of Honor
Should you need a good dose of point and shoot in your games library, you might feel inclined to take advantage of Amazon's "Deal of the Day." At $32.99, you can shoot up some Nazis for pretty cheaply by getting the Wii version of Medal of Honor: Heroes 2. We think it's a pretty good game (unless you live in Australia), and it used to be Dave's favorite Wii title to play on Game Night until that Nintendo brawler came out. Does anyone think that they'll bite on today's deal? If so, just make sure you do it before 3am EDT.%Gallery-6588%
Wii releases for the week of March 31st [update]
Update: Those of you who got their hopes up regarding The Monkey King, prepare to be disappointed. The game has been delayed to Q2. Sorry!The final day of March brings word that not much is releasing for the Wii this week. Frankly, we'll take the respite, because our wallet needs a break from having to buy so many Wii and DS games lately. Of course, that isn't to say this week's pair of releases aren't without their merit. Just, as far as we go, we're not interested.This week's releases are: The Monkey King: The Legend Begins WWII Aces What about you all? Picking either of these up?
Sky Crawlers screens soar past our expectations
We have one word to describe Sky Crawlers: Gorgeous. Yes, looks aren't everything, but we're too busy mopping up our own drool to care about such technicalities. Also, since the game is being made by the same people behind Ace Combat, we're going to bet that the gameplay in this will be just fine. At the very least, the controls sound solid. Simply enough, you move your plane around with the Nunchuck, and then point and shoot with the Wiimote. The best shots of the game are in our gallery (below), but some more Famitsu screens are posted after the break. So, click away if you're looking for some nice Wii eye-candy.*Note: The pictures look best when viewed in their full resolution, so make sure to click here to see them in their glory. If you prefer, you can also click on the "Hi Res" button in the gallery.%Gallery-18921%
DS Fanboy Review: Spitfire Heroes: Tales of the Royal Air Force
Big John Games' Spitfire Heroes: Tales of the Royal Air Force is a simple game -- and I mean that in a good way. I'm not saying it's an easy game (far from it) or that there isn't enough to do. Spitfire Heroes is simple in the way that arcade games are: the controls are intuitive and easy to pick up quickly, and the objectives are clear. Despite its appearance as a flight sim (one of the most complex genres of all), Spitfire Heroes is an action game through and through, more After Burner than Microsoft Flight Simulator.Unfortunately, some fairly major issues prevent Spitfire Heroes from an unqualified recommendation. Right up front: the game is too hard, which may prevent you from seeing the majority of the content. While it's easy to understand how to play, it is remarkably difficult to play.%Gallery-18462%
Gamecock's WWII stealth shooter 'Sabotage' becomes 'Velvet Assassin'
We doubt that many of you had even heard of Sabotage, an up-and-coming Gamecock joint based on the incredible true story of World War II hero (for the Allies, at least) and secret agent extraordinaire Violette Szabo, but we think it's worth mentioning when a game upgrades from a title as generic as "Sabotage" to something unique; something that sounds purchase-worthy. That's why we're totally behind developer Replay Studios' decision to remoniker the stealth action shooter Velvet Assassin.Lucky Austintonians will get a chance to check out the newly eponymed game at Gamecock's E.I.E.I.O expo this coming Thursday -- the rest of us will have to wait for Velvet Assassin's Fall 2008 release to digitally fill Violette Summers' sneaky leather shoes.
New Battlefield Heroes trailer hits the beach
When last we heard, there was no other information about the upcoming casual MMO Battlefield Heroes other than 'It's in development'. Well, now we have more -- a lot more.According to the trailer, BH is completely free to download and play, features full leveling of your character, a matching service that ensures that you only play against others of your level, an overarching 'metagame' to measure your progress against, and it's still slated for a Summer release.It's worth checking out the website for the developer blog, as anyone who's interested in how a game like this comes together will find items of interest both now and going forward. Perhaps our earlier question about whether or not the WWII setting will feel limiting is mitigated by the fact that for all intents and purposes, you'll be playing an olive drab colored online version of Mario Kart. [Via Joystiq]
Medal of No-Online confirmed for Australia, refund available
At least it's good to know we didn't get all angried up for nothing: the online multiplayer functionality has, as rumored last week, been removed from the Australian release of Medal of Honor 2: Heroes. This omission clearly happened late in development, as the manual continues to describe online play. EA had no explanation for the excision of online play, leading us to conjecture that the cause is very personally embarrassing. Maybe someone on staff accidentally saved over the multiplayer code with a copy of some Mr. Belvedere fanfiction, for example.IGN speculated that EA's Australian branch opted not to operate the local servers that would be necessary for online play. That sounds more plausible and less interesting than the Mr. Belvedere thing. If you bought Heroes 2 expecting online, and are now outraged at the incompleteness of your game, you can return it to EA for a full refund.%Gallery-6588%
Rumor: Aussie Medal of Honor: Heroes 2 missing online functionality
There's a vicious rumor currently circulating on a number of message boards that the Australian version of Medal of Honor: Heroes 2 is shipping without online functionality of any description. Forum users at various sites, including Aussie-Nintendo, PALGN, and NeoGAF, have all complained that the in-game menus completely lack an option to play online, while the game's box in Australia has neither the Nintendo Wi-Fi logo, or a mention of the title's much-vaunted 32-player online mode, which is available in other regions.Just to further confuse matters, the game manual that shipped with the title in Australia reportedly does dedicate a whole page to the online mode. Frankly, we're confused, not to mention a little bit worried for our fellow Wii owners down under. At the time of writing, EA has yet to respond to our request for clarification.[Thanks, Peter!]
Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30 looks like crap
You got to love those Ubiports.Maybe it's just IGN's embeddable player, but Brothers in Arms looks bad. It looks like a bad port of the PS2 version of the game (which, itself, was a bad port of the Xbox and PC game). So, as perplexed as we initially were at the choice to bring a 3 year old game onto the Wii, we're putting on our skeptic glasses something fierce now. Unless this game is free with some UPCs from a box of Count Chocula or something, we can't imagine wanting to buy it.[Thanks, Drew!]
Medal of Honor: Heroes 2 marches in with new screens
The World War II genre may be glutted (and a little played out) by now, but when a game looks this good and has as much to offer as Medal of Honor: Heroes 2, we're not going to complain too stridently. In other words, we'll take what we can get. Heroes 2 is set for this month, and EA released three more screenshots to whet our appetites while we wait, which you can find both above, and in our gallery below.%Gallery-6588%
The good stuff in Medal of Honor: Heroes 2
Sure, the Wii is slowly, but surely, building a library of online-compatible titles that are worth playing, but only one looks like it's going to be a title with the kind of replay value we're looking for. That game is Medal of Honor: Heroes 2 (otherwise known as Matt C's game of the millenium). Well, while we aren't ready and willing to hand over our first born for the game, we will say it is looking good so far.What say you?
Matt C.'s new hype train: Medal of Honor: Heroes 2
Now that Zack & Wiki has been released into the wild, IGN's Matt Casamassina needs something new to hype, and we're all sorts of behind this latest choice: Medal of Honor: Heroes 2. In a recent blog entry, he reports that the controls are out of this world. In fact, he says the WWII title "beats the pants off Metroid Prime 3 in the FPS control department. This is the new Wii benchmark, period." That's a bold statement, but it seems to jibe with what we've seen and heard so far about the game ... and hey, we get bonus incredible multiplayer to boot. Put us down in the excited column on this one.In the same post, he drops possible hints of an Elebits sequel. Exciting![Via Joystiq]
Fire up Medal of Honor: Heroes 2
While what we're really interested in with Medal of Honor: Heroes 2 is that whole 32-player online multiplayer deal, we're happy to soak up any and all scraps on the WWII title -- and that includes these latest screenshots.So let's count the reasons we love this next Medal of Honor. First, if it all works out, EA will be giving us a real chance at online multiplayer in a shooter. Second, the arcade mode sounds nothing short of awesome for anyone who likes on-rails shooters, and it offers a different experience than the more free-form campaign mode -- it's almost like getting two games for the price of one! And finally, even if we aren't the biggest fans of war-based games, it's nice to get something a little different every now and then, especially when it shows this much promise. Don't let us down, EA! Even dedicated Nintendo fans need a little variety. It is, after all, the spice of life.%Gallery-6588%[Via press release]
Tank Beat 2: Tank Beater
Well, that's not actually the real title of the Tank Beat sequel (it's the decidedly less catchy Tank Beat 2 Clash! German Forces Vs. the Allies), but maybe if the game is localized, O3 or whichever company will pick up on our suggestion. Their title is more descriptive, we guess.The first Tank Beat detailed a fictional war between the countries of Codusal and Kyushengaard, though it included some real-world tanks. This one, however-- unless they've invented a new set of "Allies" and "Germans"-- takes place in World War II. You know, like every other game.Did any of you check out Tank Beat? We didn't, though we like the idea of an arcade-ish tank game with stylus controls; we're thinking an updated Battlezone.
Today's seriously 32-player Wii FPS: Medal of Honor Heroes 2
Medal of Honor Heroes 2 for the Wii sounds like a rehash of a long-running franchise. But 32-player online battles will make this shooter unique. Will internet connectivity become a key component for a great Wii FPS? The game ships November 13, marking an overdue trend of Wii games finally getting online.Judging from the trailer, Medal of Honor Heroes 2 looks good (albeit not HD-good). See for yourself after the break.
Wii Warm Up: A different shooter
We spent all last week talking about Metroid Prime 3, so let's pick up with something not-so-completely different: Medal of Honors: Heroes 2. Early word on this game is nothing short of amazing. Screenshots that have us a little impressed. 32-person (!) online multiplayer. But best of all? Word is that the controls are awesome, and that's what really matters. It looks like EA is really sinking their teeth into the Wii, from their special control schemes to their game choices. We never thought we'd say this, but they're shaping up to be one of our favorite developers this cycle.IGN's Matt Casamassina recently spent some quality time with the latest Medal of Honor title and has nothing but praise for it. Apparently it even adds a little something to the WWII game, which is good news; we're starting to think that developers have forgotten every other war in history. He does lament the on-rails aspect of Arcade Mode, but says everything else (i.e., the shooting part of the shooting game) is worth playing. The more free-flowing Campaign Mode, however, moves beyond simply "worth playing" and into "rivals Metroid," which piques our interest something fierce. So let's talk. Are you into this one? Has it cropped up on your radar now? Or are you skeptical until you see more on it?
Joystiq hands-on: Medal of Honor: Airborne
Forget about Hour of Victory and put Medal of Honor: Airborne on your list if you're eager to get back to some WWII gaming. It'll help bandage the wound left by Call of Duty when they decided to go all Modern Warfare on us.What sets it apart from the other entries in the Medal of Honor series is the Airborne factor that really changes the way you approach each new campaign. You parachute into each level from a C-47 transport plane, and can choose exactly where you'll land on the map, if you're halfway decent at steering your 'chute. This changes the gameplay over the previous game dramatically, because you can play each map differently every time you drop in.%Gallery-4806%
Metareview: Brothers in Arms DS
Considering the look of it, Brothers in Arms DS has been a game to watch since the moment it was announced. DS games are forging new 3D ground lately, and with all the rich textures and increased action, we diehards have been busily chewing our nails and wondering just how all these games would play out. Early verdicts are in on Brothers in Arms, and so far, things are looking alright. Print media seems to be scoring the title higher than online reviewers, but that may change as more reviews trickle in.CVG -- 77%: "The first thing that gets you about Brothers on DS is just how incredible it looks and sounds. Okay, it's not the PC or 360 versions but as far as DS games go, this is up there with the best of them ... Brothers In Arms DS is a good little action-shooter that makes great use of the DS's unique interface. With the tactical aspect of its gameplay removed in favour of a linear action approach, it loses some of its style and identity, but it's nevertheless the first war shooter for DS, and sets a high standard to beat."Eurogamer -- 60%: "Despite brevity, simplicity, and the slow turning, it's really very exciting to be playing an FPS of this complexity on the DS. The above problems are significant, but never stop the fun of blamming your way through a level, sniping out distant soldiers, or, best of all, explodifying everything in a tank. The story is hugely underwritten, but ultimately unimportant; the motivation, always the need to reach B from A without the Ns shooting you in the face with their Gs ... With some tighter programming, and far fewer invisible barriers and dumb deaths, BiA could have been rather good. As it is - flawed and fun - it's a fantastic signpost."So what's the word? At this point, it looks like Metroid Prime: Hunters fans need to look no further than Brothers in Arms for a chance to get their shooter on. While the game loses some of what makes the franchise unique, it's a great mark of what's to come -- and anytime a word like "explodifying" comes into play, there may just be something worth checking out.
Hour of Victory demo now Live
The only question is, will the Hour of Victory demo now on Xbox Live provide an hour of fun? Also, did Activision release new Call of Duty 3 content today specifically to distract you from this fellow first-person double-dub dos shooter? Wait, well we guess that's two questions. So, the only questions are the two we've already asked. Oh, and will Midway please develop Hour of Victory Airborne so we can fire up the Joystiq Acronizer 3000 and use up these Jay-Z jokes we bought a few years ago on clearance? So, three.Come to think of it, will the less-than-stellar reception the demo is receiving so far keep you from downloading it? And, lest we forget the most important question: What did you think? So, just those five questions, no more. We promise.Update: The Hour of Victory demo has now apparently been pulled from Xbox Live. We don't know if has anything to do with the game's negative reception as this thread suggests. We'll let you know if anything changes.
